


Worth It Every Time

by alli_luvv



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Dumb Hockey Boys, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, this started out completely differently and yet somehow we're here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:54:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23901139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alli_luvv/pseuds/alli_luvv
Summary: Sometimes all it takes to fall in love is a little push.Or an accident prone roommate.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 107





	Worth It Every Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written in literal years, so please be gentle. I just had too many feelings about these dumb hockey boys.

Nursey threw his bag into the corner with enough force to shake the entire Haus and honest to god stomped up the ladder to bury himself in a blanket cocoon on his bed. Dex bit his lip, swallowed the snarky comment bubbling up in his throat. They’re coming back from a tough loss on an especially tough roadie, and he hasn’t seen Nursey mad like this since- well, since some of their worst fights in frog year. Dex surreptitiously inspected the ladder attached to Nursey’s bunk, to make sure his stomping hadn’t done any damage that would need to be fixed before he broke another bone this year.

It’s weird, he thinks, the way he can feel himself orbiting around Nursey, following in his wake, picking up the pieces of his mess. He can feel that something has shifted between them, especially since he moved back from the basement. They’re better at reading each other, slower to jump into a fight when they disagree. They still bicker, but it’s lighthearted, almost bordering on affectionate. Which, huh.

A whimper leaked out from underneath the mound of blankets and Dex was reminded of a nasty check that Nursey took, that he probably hadn’t bothered to ice at the hotel last night. Shockingly, they weren’t assigned as roommates on the roadie. And while Chowder was an amazing friend, he never quite had the knack for mother henning Nurse. Dex quietly slipped out of the room and returned with an ice pack before climbing up to the top bunk.

“If I can hear you crying down there, you’re in worse shape than I thought,” Dex joked.

“Fuck you, with those Dumbo ears you can hear it if a mouse farts,” Nursey shot back, and Dex began to tense until his head emerged from the blankets and he saw the smile. He took the ice pack and gingerly applied it to his ribs, before curling up into Dex’s side. 

He could hear the sounds of Bitty moving around in the kitchen, and soon a delightful smell began to waft up the stairs. Dex shifted towards the ladder, intending to climb down to deal with his own bag, abandoned on the floor but a hand on his wrist stopped him. 

“Dexy, I’m hurt,” Nursey whined, “That means d-man cuddles, it’s practically in the bylaws.” 

“Fine,” Dex laughed, wrapping an arm around Nursey’s shoulder. They sat cuddled together in companionable silence until Bitty’s voice cut through the air.

“Dinner! Y’all get two minutes before I text the groupchat.” Nursey sat up so quickly he almost whacked his head on the ceiling. Dex bit back a laugh as he climbed down the ladder, standing back to spot Nursey as he climbed down. They’d learned the hard way that Nursey’s brand of clumsiness had a fondness for ladders. More than once after a kegster, even with Nursey Patrol in full effect, Nursey had somehow wound up tangled in the ladder, having fallen through the rungs when he tried to climb up. Now, Dex took no chances. 

Nursey was just stepping onto the bottom rung when an ominous crack resounded. Dex realized what was about to happen as the rung snapped in half and reached out to steady Nursey. Unluckily, Nursey’s momentum had propelled him fully off the ladder. Dex caught him before he hit the floor, but as he stepped back to steady himself, his foot caught in the strap of his forgotten bag and they fell. Dex took the brunt of it, landing hard enough to have the wind knocked out of him. He managed to keep his grip on Nursey, pulling him down with him, and somehow in the fall he’d shifted so that they landed face to face.

“Oops,” Nursey whispered, with a soft smile. He made no motion to get up, and suddenly Dex was confronted with just how close they were. Their faces were only inches apart, and Dex couldn’t escape from the realization that Nursey may just be the handsomest person alive. They stayed, almost spellbound, Dex keeping Nursey pulled protectively into his chest. Dex could feel the flush rising on his cheeks as the silence dragged on and forced himself to blink, to look away from the magnetic pull of Nursey’s mossy green eyes. Dex was struck by how much they reminded him of home.

Dex had been dancing around confronting this feeling all year, probably longer, hoping that if he just didn’t acknowledge it, he wouldn’t have to deal with his growing attraction to Nursey. But like this, close enough that he can make out flecks of blue and grey around Nursey’s pupils, he was forced to the conclusion that he very much wanted to close the gap between them. And once he allowed himself to want Nursey, a thousand memories played in his head. Frog piles with Chowder where Nursey always seemed to end up pressed into his side, movie nights in their room where Nursey would nod off and rest his head on Dex’s shoulder. Brushing against each other on walks to Faber, meeting up for coffee after class. It’s startlingly fond. His brain nearly short circuits as time stretches on, and neither of them moves, and-

Holy shit, he’s in love with Nursey. 

If anything, the realization only served to make him blush harder. Dex was certain he was lobster red from head to toe as he raised his eyes to meet Nursey’s once more, and catching his smirk only served to confirm his fears. 

“So, uh, you gonna kiss me, Poindexter? Or do I have to keep flirting with you for another six months before you take the hint?” What.

“What,” he gasped. Nursey laughed.

“I swear to god, Dex, you never get to chirp Chowder again for not realizing Jack and Bitty were together.”

“I-”

“You’re such an oblivious fucker you haven’t even noticed I’ve been trying to court you since fall.”

“Court me? Nursey, you’re such a-”

“English nerd, yes I know. So are you going to kiss me or what?”

Dex stopped thinking, and pulled Nursey down into a hungry kiss. Nursey moaned against his lips, and Dex took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Nursey melted into his arms. Dex never wanted the moment to end, he wanted to spend the rest of his life pinned to the floor with Nursey in his arms. 

“The groupchat has been texted, if you want food y’all better be quick!” Bitty’s voice echoed up the stairs, breaking the spell. 

“We should probably-” Dex started.

“Yeah, get dinner before the food’s gone,” Nursey laughed, rolling off Dex and standing up. He reached down to pull him off the floor, grinning at the pout on Dex’s face.

“No need to be heartbroken, Poindexter, plenty time for more of this later,” Nursey winked. He moved to exit their room before tripping over Dex’s bag. This time, Dex managed to keep them both upright.

“You know, this is why I like stuff to be put away. Less for you to trip over.” Nursey smiled.

“Well, if it weren’t for the bag, maybe you never would’ve had the balls to kiss me.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They walk into the kitchen hand in hand, Dex still redder than a lobster. Wicky is the first to notice, and wordlessly reaches over to grab the Sin Bin from its place on the counter to set it in the center of the table.

“FOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!”

“Oh my god!” Chowder squeaked. There was silence for a moment before everyone at the table pulled out their wallets.

“Everyone owes Bitty because it’s spring semester,” Ford said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from her bag. 

“Wait, does immediately after a roadie count for on a roadie?” Bitty asked, “Because if so, I owe Chowder.” 

“And it’s Sunday so Chowder and Ollie owe Wicky,” Ford continued. Dex felt his phone begin to buzz incessantly, so he pulled it out of his pocket to see thirty texts from the groupchat. The first is just a picture of Dex and Nursey holding hands, captioned with roughly a hundred exclamation points from Chowder. The rest are Holster and Ransom fining them, and everyone sorting out who owes what in the pool. Dex groaned and pulled out a chair. Nursey sat down next to him before dropping a fifty in the Sin Bin.

“Y’all don’t have to put that much in just for holding hands!”

“Shut up, Bitty, we still need a new dryer,” Dex hissed. Nursey laughed.

“Exactly! And besides, I was paying in advance for this.” Nursey pulled Dex into a dramatic kiss, and flipped the team off as they shouted “FIIIIIIIIIIINE!”

“We’ll have a new dryer by spring break if y’all keep this up,” Bitty chirped. Dex just smiled against Nursey’s lips. That would be perfectly fine by him.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://nurseanddex.tumblr.com/)


End file.
